


Team Illuminaughty

by Wendino



Series: Cryptic Patrol [2]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24908671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wendino/pseuds/Wendino
Summary: Levi meets Kain and Able
Series: Cryptic Patrol [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802413





	Team Illuminaughty

To say Levi was curious would be an understatement, in fact curious didn't even begin to cover what he was feeling at that moment. Only 14 and he’d been hand picked by some weirdo in a mask to join his merry band of murderers, or whatever militaristic cult scene the guy was running. He stayed quiet though, following the other refugees into a giant room that looked like something out of a fantasy novel with how much it resembled a throne room. He moved closer to the front out of curiosity, ignoring the dirty looks he got from the older members of the crowd. 

Finally up front, he came to stand next to a pair of twins who looked somehow worse than he did. One of them seemed pretty shaken up over something, which Levi could relate to, but the other one just looked annoyed. He turned his attention back towards the big chair at the center of the room where the masked weirdo seemed to be watching them all. Levi tilted his head curiously, watching the man in the mask for any clues as to what was going on.

“He's waiting for something…” Levi said quietly, and he noticed the twins’ ears twitch out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over and locked eyes briefly with the nervous twin before looking back towards the front of the room. He watched as a man with white hair approached the throne holding some kind of tablet, followed by some kid with black hair around his age. They stood on either side of the throne as the masked man rose from his chair, a hush falling over the room as he did so.

“I made it clear when my army arrived that you would be spared if you proved your worth to me. Some of you have done so already,” his gaze seemed to linger briefly on the nervous twin Levi noticed, “while others have yet to do so. In order to weed out weakness, you will be given tasks to determine your skills. If you cannot complete the tasks, or if we find your skills lacking, you will be eliminated. Those who succeed will be granted a boon, and allowed to live.” Quiet chatter arose in the room as people stared at the man in horror and disbelief. Levi noticed a few backing away, while others like the twins looked as curious as he felt.

“Those who have proven themselves have already been given this boon, and may step forward.” To Levi’s intrigue, and apparently to the annoyed twin’s shock, the nervous twin was one of the few to step forward. The annoyed twin looked ready to say something, but Levi put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, gesturing with his eyes to the many swords floating ominously above them. The annoyed twin jerked his shoulder away, but wisely kept his mouth shut. 

The rest of the masked guy’s speech went by slowly after that, with only four people trying to run and being made examples of in seconds. Levi kept an eye on the annoyed twin, who seemed to be glaring at the back of his sibling’s head like he could burn holes in if he stared long enough. In the end, the two were lumped into a group together and marched down a random hallway. 

Levi watched the man with white hair as he led their group, unable to see what was on the tablet the man was holding but knowing damn well that it was nothing good. Annoyed twin must've picked up on it too, since he seemed just as wary of the guy. Levi wasn't sure what tipped him off, between blondie’s ear twitching or the fact that the man had stopped tapping on the screen, but Levi grabbed the twin’s shirt and yanked him down to the ground just in time to avoid the traps that came out of the walls where their heads had just been. Of the twenty or so people in their group, only eleven including Levi and the twin had dodged in time. The white-haired weirdo almost looked displeased by this outcome, but congratulated the survivors for their quick reflexes. Levi pushed himself up and offered a hand to the blonde, who eyed him suspiciously before taking the offered hand.

“Why’d you help me?”  
“Huh?” Levi looked at the other in confusion.  
“What are you, deaf? Why’d you help me?”  
“Because you have someone waiting for you at the end of this, and because there's clearly no way they want this to be ‘every man for himself’ or whatever. We work together, we survive.” The blond still looked at him in suspicion but nodded.  
“The name’s Kain.”  
“I’m Levi.”

Working together seemed to be the way to do things as Levi and Kain helped each other past obstacles. Levi had tried to help the others in the group, but most brushed him aside. Their loss, and Levi felt little remorse for them when their foolishness caught up to them. In the end only four remained of the group, and white-hair seemed satisfied.

“Well done. You four have passed with flying colors… well, most of you anyway. Others were very lucky, but no matter.” Levi noticed white hair glance at Kain, who seemed oblivious to it.

“Your next trial will be done on your own. If you survive, you’ll be welcomed into our ranks-”

“This is obviously a trap,” one of the four snapped. White-hair didn't seem to appreciate the interruption, and walked briskly up to the one who’d spoken out.

“It seems we have our first volunteer. The Commander and the onward march of science thank you for your bravery, and sacrifice.” Before the other guy could respond, white-hair jammed something into the other’s neck and stepped back. The guy reacted to whatever it was immediately, dropping to his knees and screaming bloody murder as whatever was in the injection quickly spread across his skin. Levi winced and Kain covered his ears as the remaining trio watched their groupmate become engulfed until all that remained was a twitching black mass on the floor. White-hair tapped something into his tablet and then looked up at the trio expectantly.

None of them wanted to move after what they’d seen, but Levi could see white-hair getting impatient. He gave Kain’s shoulder a squeeze and then stepped up before the blonde could stop him.

“Hit me with your best shot,” Levi said as he stood in front of white-hair, who still seemed unimpressed with them all. Just like before, white-hair injected whatever it was into his neck and Levi saw the world go white. When he came to, Kain was watching him in shock and white-hair was once again looking at his tablet.

“Is this hell…?” Levi groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. He didn't remember anything that had happened between now and the injection, but he felt.. stronger? More energized? Nauseous? Levi leaned away from Kain and threw up. Definitely nauseous. He wiped his mouth and looked back at Kain, smiling.

“Your turn, Blondie… y’ready to make me look like a lil bitch?” Kain snorted a laugh and helped Levi to his feet.  
“Damn right I am…”  
“Good, cuz your brother’s gonna be pissed if you don’t make it.” Kain’s expression darkened a bit at the mention of his brother, but he shrugged it off as he swaggered over to white-hair. Levi winced as Kain dropped like a rock, and his concern grew when it looked like the injection was overtaking him. He grabbed Kain’s hand and winced when Kain squeezed his hand hard.

“C’mon Blondie, you got this! If my dumbass can get past it, you definitely can!” Levi cheered him on, not even sure he could even be heard. White-hair looked at the two in disapproval but Levi didn’t care. He grew more and more concerned when Kain’s grip slackened, until he saw the injection slowly start to disperse and sink into the other’s skin. A few moments later, Kain let out a loud gasp and shot up. White-hair’s look of disapproval grew as he went back to his tablet.

“Told ya you had this in the bag,” Levi said as he rubbed small circles on Kain’s back.  
“Tch, c-course I did, I’m too awesome to die like a loser after all,” Kain said weakly. Levi gave him an encouraging smile and helped him to his feet. 

In the end, they were the only two out of their group of 25 to make it through the trials. Able, as Levi had come to learn the name of the other twin, was waiting for them when they got back to the throne room. He seemed relieved to see his twin in one piece and was quick to run over to them.

“You made it!”  
“Duh, of course I did! Levi and I were too good for their dumb tests!” Kain looked proud of himself and Levi snorted. Able glanced briefly at Levi and nodded, clearly appreciative of his role in keeping his brother alive. Levi just smiled, happy that he’d managed to make a friend in this new hell.


End file.
